IU drops to 11-seed, Notre Dame rises to 7-seed on CFP projected bracket
(WISH) — Indiana University football dropped to the 11-seed in the College Football Playoff projected bracket that was updated Tuesday night.
The 10-1 Hoosiers, now ranked 10th in the CFP, will host the 1-10 Purdue Boilermakers in the sold-out battle for the Old Oaken Bucket at 7 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers had ranked as 5th and the 7-seed last week in the rankings before losing Saturday on the road to Ohio State 38-15, IU’s first loss of the season.
Notre Dame on Saturday ended Army’s 13-game winning streak with a 49-14 victory at Yankee Stadium. In the CFP rankings Tuesday, Notre Dame (10-1) moved to the 7-seed from the 8-seed a week ago. Notre Dame’s now ranked 5th in the CFP.
The Irish will face the USC Trojans at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
In the latest projected CFP bracket, the first round would have IU play Penn State (10-1) at Beaver Stadium in University Park, with the winner facing Miami (10-1). Notre Dame would go up against SMU in South Bend (10-1), with the victor playing Texas (10-1).
The final bracket and rankings will be released at 8 p.m. Dec. 8.
In advance of the new CFP rankings, AP ranked Notre Dame at No. 5, a rise of one spot from the previous week, and IU at No. 10, a drop of five spots.
College Football Playoff rankings, Nov. 26, 2024
- 1. Oregon (11-0).
- 2. Ohio State (10-1).
- 3. Texas (10-1).
- 4. Penn State (10-1).
- 5. Notre Dame (10-1).
- 6. Miami (Fla.) (10-1).
- 7. Georgia (9-2).
- 8. Tennessee (9-2).
- 9. SMU (10-1).
- 10. Indiana (10-1).
- 11. Boise State (10-1).
- 12. Clemson (9-2).
- 13. Alabama (8-3).
- 14. Ole Miss (8-3).
- 15. South Carolina (8-3).
- 16. Arizona State (9-2).
- 17. Tulane (9-2).
- 18. Iowa State (9-2).
- 19. BYU (9-2).
- 20. Texas A&M (8-3).
- 21. Missouri (8-3).
- 22. UNLV (9-2).
- 23. Illinois (8-3).
- 24. Kansas State (8-3).
- 25. Colorado (8-3).
From AP: games to watch
Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State: A Buckeyes win sets up a rematch with Oregon in the Big Ten title game (with a third meeting possible in the playoffs).
No. 3 Texas at No. 20 Texas A&M: The winner plays Georgia for the SEC title. The Longhorns would presumably make the 12-team bracket either way.
No. 15 South Carolina at No. 12 Clemson: The Palmetto Bowl for a chance to stay on the fringes of consideration for the CFP.
This week’s projected first-round matchups
Teams listed by seed, not ranking.
No. 12 Arizona State at No. 5 Ohio State: Fun fact: The Big 12 is NOT guaranteed a spot in these playoffs, and Tulane of the American Athletic Conference is No. 17, only one spot behind ASU.
No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Georgia: The Bulldogs are vulnerable to a third loss in the SEC title game. This would be rematch of Georgia’s 31-17 win on Nov. 16.
No. 11 Indiana at No. 6 Penn State: An argument could be made that had these Big Ten foes played this season, both might not be here.
No. 10 SMU at No. 7 Notre Dame: They haven’t squared off since 1989, but are scheduled to play again in 2026.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.